heavy
/ˈhɛv.i/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.96 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not easy to bear; burdensome; oppressive.
Example Sentences
- "Can you help me carry this? It's really heavy."
- "Use the scales to measure how heavy it is."
- "Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes."
- "But now, ten years later, after his recent shipwreck, he cannot compete as a runner, though he can outthrow the slighter Phaeacians with the heaviest discus."
- "In other research, scientists have found that people who kept cereal out in the open were often about 20 pounds heavier than people who kept cereal behind closed doors."
- "When he was a child he was rather heavy, but today he is impressively fit."
Etymology
From Middle English hevy, heviȝ, from Old English hefiġ, hefeġ, hæfiġ (“heavy; important, grave, severe, serious; oppressive, grievous; slow, dull”), from Proto-West Germanic *habīg (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Germanic *habīgaz (“heavy, hefty, weighty”), from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to take, grasp, hold”). Equivalent to heave + -y. Related to have. Cognate with Scots hevy, havy, heavy (“heavy”), Saterland Frisian heeuwich, häwich (“violent, angry”), West Frisian hevich (“violent”), Dutch hevig (“violent, severe, intense, acute”), German Low German hevig (“violent, fierce, intense, angry”), German hebig (compare heftig (“fierce, severe, intense, violent, heavy”)), Icelandic höfugur (“heavy, weighty, important”), Latin capāx (“large, wide, roomy, spacious, capacious, capable, apt”). Compare typologically Russian объёмный (obʺjómnyj), ёмкий (jómkij) (akin to име́ть (imétʹ), взять (vzjatʹ)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhɛv.i/
- British English: /ˈhɛv.i/
Usage
Inflected Forms
heavier (comparative)
heaviest (superlative)
more heavy (comparative)
most heavy (superlative)
heavies (plural)
heavys (plural)
heavies (present, singular)
heavying (participle, present)
heavied (participle, past)
heavied (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
as heavy as a dead donkey
heavier-than-air
heavy-armed
heavy artillery
heavy as a dead donkey
heavy-bearded
heavy bomber
heavy bread